The contributions were made by John Scully, formerly a managing partner of the Mill Valley-based hedge fund SPO Partners, and his wife Regina Scully, founder and CEO of RPR Marketing Communications, a New York City public relations agency specializing in consumer products and brands.

In 2014, Levine, D-Greenbrae, used the ballot issue committee, which he dubbed Elevate California, to support passage of Proposition 2, which made it more difficult for lawmakers to use revenue earmarked for the state’s budget stabilization account for other purposes.

Prop. 2 was opposed by some educators who feared the measure would allow the Legislature to use withheld educational funds to manage the general fund.

The Scullys jointly contributed $100,000 to Elevate California on June 22, 2013, and then jointly donated another $100,000 on July 24, 2014. Levine reported the first donations on July 31, 2013, about 42 days after receiving them and reported the second donations on Oct. 7, 2014, about 75 days after receiving them.

The Marin Independent Journal reported the first donations in a story published on Aug. 1, 2013.

In the case of the second donations, the Fair Political Practices Commission found that Levine failed to timely report the donations outside of the 90-day election cycle for the Nov. 4, 2014 election.

Once qualified as an electronic filer, a candidate for elective state office and all his controlled committees are required to report to the Secretary of State within 10 business days of receipt of every contribution of $5,000 or more that is received at any time other than the election cycle. The election cycle is the period of time beginning 90 days prior to an election and ending on the day of the election.

The FPPC also found that Levine made a prohibited $50,000 payment for a cable TV advertisement. The ad featured Levine talking about Prop. 2.

The payment made by the Elevate California committee constituted a violation because the committee had already received more than $34,000 in contributions at that point. In 2014, there was a $34,000 contribution limit on committees making a payment of $50,000 or more at the behest of a candidate for a communication that clearly identified the candidate within 45 days of an election.

In the stipulated decision released by the FPPC, the commission states, “Making a payment for an advertisement at an incumbent’s behest, which features the incumbent candidate within 45 days of his election gives the candidate unfair exposure to the public, even though the advertisement does not expressly advocate for his election.”

Levine, who was first elected to the Assembly in 2012, handily defeated Gregory Allen, his Republican opponent in the November 2014 election, garnering more than 74 percent of the vote.

The infractions came to light when the Franchise Tax Board conducted one of its periodic audits for campaign finance reporting violations.

Jay Wierenga, a spokesman for the FPPC, said his ability to comment was limited to the stipulated decision released by the commission.

“Stipulated agreements are put out there as an agreement by both parties,” Wierenga said, “They both sign off to the details and facts as agreed to and that’s what’s made public.”

The FPPC stated that Levine could have been fined up to $10,000 for these two violations of the Political Reform Act. It added, however, that it considers the presence or lack of intent to deceive the voting public when deciding how large a fine to levy.

In its decision, the FPPC stated, “No evidence indicated an intent to deceive the voting public since the Committee’s pre-election campaign statements, filed before the election, reported the Scully family contributions and the payment for the communication.”

It also stated that Levine and his volunteer treasurer, Bruce Raful, were unaware of the regulation prohibiting the payment for the cable TV advertisement.

Levine said, “I fully agree with the FPPC’s findings. I substantially complied with the law. The late filing was inadvertent, which was their determination.”

Levine added, “I’ve got a great working relationship with the FPPC. I authored two bills that they asked me to carry for them this year. One was signed into law by Governor Newsom in July.”

Between Jan. 1, 2019, and June 30, 2019, Levine’s Elevate California committee reported receiving $84,000 in contributions; all the contributions came in the form of loans from Levine’s re-election committee, Friends of Marc Levine for Assembly 2020.

“It’s just another form of contribution,” Levine said regarding the loans. “Instead of asking for donations from individual contributors I’m making that donation from the campaign committee.”

Levine said he hasn’t yet decided what he will use the Elevate California funds for. Levine’s re-election committee reported receiving $112,608 in contributions during the first six months of 2019 and ended the first half of the year with about $1.6 million in cash.